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May 25, 2026
Perimenopause or Stress? How to Tell the Difference
Perimenopause and stress share symptoms like anxiety, poor sleep, and mood swings. But cycle changes and symptom timing reveal which is more likely.
Migraine is one of the most misunderstood conditions in medicine. People who get them have spent decades being told to drink more water, manage their stress, or just push through. Meanwhile, the actual science says migraine is a neurological condition with real biology, real triggers, and real treatment, and the hormonal pattern so many people notice is genuinely there.
Here's what's actually going on.
Start here
A migraine is not a bad headache. It's a neurological event. Your brain becomes hypersensitive, blood flow and nerve signaling shift, and a chemical called CGRP (a pain-signaling molecule released during attacks) drives much of the pain. That's why a migraine can come with nausea, sound and light sensitivity, vision changes, fatigue, and brain fog, not just head pain.
The other thing worth knowing upfront: migraine is wildly common and disproportionately under-treated. Migraine Canada estimates around 5 million Canadians live with it. It affects 12 to 14% of people globally and is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. People who menstruate get migraines about 3x more often than people who don't, and that gap isn't a coincidence.
The hormonal connection
For people who menstruate, estrogen is one of the biggest drivers. When estrogen drops sharply, like in the days right before your period, the nervous system gets more sensitive to ...
Carly Malo is myStoria's Head of Concierge. She has 2 decades of experience in direct nursing care, having worked in long-term care, sports medicine, practical nursing, and fertility/reproductive health.
